To be fair the "no USB support" window was quite short. USB started becoming available to consumers around 1998-1999 and there was some level of USB support in the Linux kernel within a few months. I remember using an early USB stack written by someone else that Linus didn't like so he rewrote it from scratch. Even the new Linus stack was in place by 1999. We got USB-2 and 3 support pretty quickly too.
Another vote for HotS, it's the only MOBA that has ever truly clicked for me (and I am not even particularly into the rest of the Blizzard stuff).
I'd say it's definitely worth a look despite the "maintenance mode". There is an active player base, the game is well balanced and it still receives occasional tweaks. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is if you are enjoying yourself or not.
I wouldn't want to restrict myself to a specific platform or timeframe but I could give up some major genres. For example I'd be ok with letting go of all FPS and most 3D focused games (presentation, not rendering tech).
Like other commenters I take advantage of them but only if I can do so on my terms: on Linux or the Steam Deck using Heroic or a similar solution. There is absolutely no way I'd use Windows or the Epic launcher for this.
And since these methods are not officially supported and could break in the future I can't spend money at the Epic store. I only leech on the free stuff while it's practical to do so.
The basics: high quality terminal emulation with utf-8 and directcolor support
Customization is by simple git friendly text config. Build time config (ala st) is acceptable if done in a reasonable way.
A way to pipe panes into external commands to allow for customized url and other other data extraction. Built-in regexs are not always enough and doing it on the tmux side is not always ideal.
Control over key bindings and mouse behavior
Small, very fast, instantaneous startup
Very predictable behavior, no surprises
Minimal dependencies (including build time) are a plus. Definitely no 100MB+ electron beasts.
Support X11 since I am sticking with that for now
A codebase I can understand in case I need to change it. Simple and fast build. For core tools like terminal emulators I must be able to build or modify them without much trouble.
Not too much extra junk. I don't use menus, tabs, scrollbars etc so I don't want the terminal to be huge or slow to support every feature others might want. I will put up with some extras if they can be completely disabled and don't significantly affect performance or startup time or code complexity.
Absolutely no network service integration, no matter how well intended. The only acceptable network activity is talking to the X11 socket.
Longevity. I like to use my tools for years and years. I am interested in new tech of course but I don't hop from one hype train to the next.
I know this is not everyone's cup of tea but you asked what I want. And nowadays it's at least as much about do not wants as wants.
I briefly tried ghostty when it was going around earlier. Slow startup time (~250ms if I remember right), the gtk-4 dependency and some weird defaults like the client side decoration (which I gather can be turned off in config) made me pass on it for now but might take another look in a few months. It didn't seem particularly revolutionary to me either but there are plenty of much worse options out there too.
The Binding of Isaac Rebirth Complete Bundle as well as its individual components are at a new all time low. The game is an absolute classic and IMO it's still the best at what it does. It's perfect on the Steam Deck too.
If you like the base game I highly recommend all the DLCs. Besides a ton of new content they also add many quality of life changes that make the game even more enjoyable.
My boring advice is to spend a few weeks using it as it is out of the box: just play your favorite games on it.
After a while you might get a sense of what you would like to change (if anything) and then you can research how to go about it.
For casual games on the Deck some my most played are The Binding of Isaac (most hours by far), Brotato, Deep Rock Survivor, Slay the Spire, Balatro, Dead Cells, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Shotgun King. But there are so many good choices, it really depends on your taste.
It's not super old but I patiently waited for a sale on the Repentence DLC for The Binding of Isaac. Besides the new content it's also a sort of v2.5 of the game (if Rebirth/Afterbirth was v2.0) with many quality of life changes. Admittedly some of the changes were a bit startling at first but I quickly got used to them and after a few hours it felt like home again.
I have about 500 hours in Isaac and this refresher has breathed new life into it so perhaps I am good for another 500.
There is a series of tabletop games called MicroMacro that are sort of the same idea with a similar art style if you are into that. You have to solve various mysteries by tracing sequences of events. Good fun either solo or with friends.
100 kajigers